The Princess Capers
by purpletutugirl
Summary: The six official Disney Princesses awake one morning to find their true loves gone. In a quest to find their missing husbands, they team up with the only entity they know of with a complete knowledge of happy endings: their narrator...
1. What do you mean he's Gone?

This is my first Fanfiction. It's actually based off a dream I had. Strange, I know.

OoOoO

Princess Ariel awoke to the soft roll of the waves on the shore, as she did every morning. Something about this one was different, though. There was no strong chest to fan her thick red hair over, no strong hand to hold her own while she and the owner of said hand swam up through the thick layers of sleep clouding their minds, no warm body to snuggle up to under the sea green silk sheets and darker green comforter that her husband insisted accented her hair. In short, there was no Prince Eric. Where had he gotten off to?

OoOoO

One Princess had gotten up in time to mend the crack of dawn. Princess Aurora had just come in from her morning stroll through the picturesque wood surrounding their palace when she discovered that Prince Phillip had risen early as well. This was slightly odd, since he was a late sleeper by nature. Still, she thought nothing of it until she saw that his clothes were still on the chair that the manservant had arranged them on, and aforementioned manservant was not aware Prince Phillip had arisen. Unless he had spontaneously decided to run around naked, something was amiss.

OoOoO

Princess Belle arched her back under her heavy, royal blue velvet bedspread and gold silk sheets. She'd slept well, even with the odd dream about some man with long black curls abducting her husband. Shaking back her auburn locks, she arose and shrugged on a white silk robe. She was halfway through her morning routine when she noticed that her husband had not left her his usual letter. Since he had to rise early in the morning, he left her a note, generally filled with declarations of love, instead of waking her. He _never _forgot the letter! What had happened?

OoOoO

In a beautiful, white palace far, far away, Princess Cinderella awoke from her pleasant slumber. She performed a movement that would be considered a roll if performed by a less dignified person, and set her feet on the floor. She peeked over her shoulder to steal a glance at her handsome Prince, sleeping beside her. That is to say, he _should_ have been sleeping beside her. A small frown creased the Princess's perfect brow. Where was her husband?

OoOoO

It was a hellishly hot morning in Agrabah, and Princess Jasmine knew, as she pushed her thin silk blanket down to her waist, that it would be an equally sweltering day. Maybe she would be able to coerce Prince Aladdin into finding a lake and going for a swim. With that in mind, the overheated Princess turned over to wake her husband; however, it seemed he was already awake, for his side of the bed was empty of everything but a groove in which he must have slept. This was unheard of! He always, _always_ kissed her good morning; the only time he had ever failed to do this was when…well, we won't get into that, but it had been bad.

OoOoO

The last castle to be visited is situated in the clouds, painted of pastel colors one can only hope Prince Charming himself did _not_ pick. In the royal bedchamber, Princess Snow White was stirring, covering a dainty yawn with a petite hand. A glance at the window told her that further sleep was improbable. This knowledge obtained, she prepared to don her most cheerful demeanor to greet Prince Charming for the day. She turned, her very pores oozing happiness, and promptly deflated upon obtaining the knowledge that the one she loved was absent.

OoOoO

A devious man in a red coat leaned on the rail of his ship's deck as he watched the six pictures before him. His long, black curls blew in the gentle breeze as he nodded to each of his twelve comrades. So far, everything was going perfectly.

OoOoO

Tell me what you thought of it…


	2. At Least He's Alive

Here goes the second installment of the story… And I apologize a million times for not being quicker with this update, but my computer was being dumb and not letting me upload stuff.

On another note, I'm glad that people like my first story!

**Bold** writing means that the narrator speaks the words…

_Italics_ are thoughts

Disclaimer that I forgot last chapter: I own a polka dot bathrobe and some odd change, possibly a Belle Barbie, but nothing else. Please don't sue me.

**Meanwhile, in the Palace by the sea…**

Ariel was panicking. She couldn't find Eric anywhere. She'd looked in the throne room at the time he usually conducted petty court, the ocean when and where he usually fished, and even checked with his friends, though she couldn't fathom him shirking his duties to frolic with his buddies.

Not until she was on the verge of hysteria did her tardy chamberlain decide to intervene. By that, of course, I mean that he decided that the longer he waited, the more likely the Princess was to kill the messenger.

"There is a letter for you, Princess," He said carefully, aware of his liege's current demeanor.

Those seven words transformed her into a frenzy of swishing green skirts aimed in the general direction of the unsuspecting chamberlain.

Muttering darkly to herself, Ariel snatched the gold embossed envelope off the presented tray. Tearing it open, she impatiently began to read.

_To whom it may concern,_

_I'm sure that by now you've noticed your missing Prince. I have kidnapped him for reasons I have decided not to reveal to you at this time; however, should you decide you want him back, contact King Triton for your next letter._

_Ta-ta,_

_The Capitan_

This was awful! Here she was, being perfectly horrible, and imagining all the ways she was going to kill him when she found him, and he'd been kidnapped! She had to get him back. There was only one option. _I have to get daddy to turn me back into a mermaid._

0o0o0

**Meanwhile, Princess Aurora is having troubles of her own…**

Aurora had been frowning delicately all day, but now a larger expression of worry, discontent, and/or frustration was threatening to escape. In other words, the always-so-dignified-you-could-blow-up-her-breakfast-and-receive-no-response Princess was going to cry.

Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately), her lady-in-waiting chose that moment to poke her head in, gently of course.

"Your Highness, someone just delivered this letter for you," She said demurely, peeking at the always-so-dignified-you-could-blow-up-her-breakfast-and-receive-no-response monarch from under lowered lashes.

Aurora nodded regally and took the cream colored envelope, brushing a slender finger over the gold trim. She eased up the flap and slid out the short letter.

_To whom it may concern,_

_I'm sure that by now you've noticed your missing Prince. I have kidnapped him for reasons I have decided not to reveal to you at this time; however, should you decide you want him back, contact the Palace's record keeper for your next instructions._

_Ta-ta,_

_The Capitan_

Oh, man. Here come the tears.

The lady-in-waiting tactfully chose this time to discreetly tiptoe out of her lady's chamber.

0o0o0

Belle was distraught. He never did this to her! He'd been gone all day, and he hadn't left any indication of his whereabouts. She hadn't even been able to read because she was so worried.

Unfortunately (for Beast anyway), her tears of sadness were steadily morphing into ones of anger. _How dare he worry me like this!_ The thought was accompanied by some of her old fire, and she decided to renew her hunt for her missing love.

She'd wandered aimlessly around the castle, occasionally checking Beast's favorite spots. When she discovered that this technique yielded no results, she decided to go for a walk. Perhaps he'd done the same.

After changing into warmer clothing and donning a cloak, the teary Princess made her way out of the oak doors. As she stepped out onto the decidedly mucky path, she heard a distinct crunch as her worn boots flattened a creamy envelope with rich gold trim.

Peeling the once pristine parchment out of the mud, Belle opened the envelope and carefully read the letter.

_To whom it may concern,_

_I'm sure that by now you've noticed your missing Prince. I have kidnapped him for reasons I have decided not to reveal to you at this time; however, should you decide you want him back, contact the Tavern Keeper for further instructions._

_Ta-ta,_

_The Capitan_

She scowled. _Well. This is irritating._

0o0o0

**Cinderella was experiencing much the same ordeal in her neck of the woods, though with a little less anger…**

She had been looking for the Prince all day. She was getting quite teary over the whole nightmare. She was beginning to worry that when she actually found her missing spouse, she wouldn't be fit to look upon.

Concerned about that as she was, she continued to look, and she continued to cry. Some would consider this counterintuitive, but her reasoning was that the longer she waited, the more she would cry.

On her way past the huge foyer, she heard a booming on the door. A small, moderately bemused crease found its way onto her forehead as she made her way to the offending noise.

When she pulled open the door, she was greeted by a dumpy little man in stained clothing that looked like it had seen better days. His shirt's horizontal blue and white stripes did nothing to hide the fact that he was almost a head and a half shorter than our leggy, blonde Princess and two or three times as wide. His tattered trousers ended somewhere in the area of his shins. All in all, he was a grimy individual.

"Letter fer the Princess," He said, offering an off-white envelope in grubby fingers. She took it carefully, and slit the top open.

_To whom it may concern,_

_I'm sure that by now you've noticed your missing Prince. I have kidnapped him for reasons I have decided not to reveal to you at this time; however, should you decide you want him back, contact the Palace's footman for your next instructions._

_Ta-ta,_

_The Capitan_

_Thank the Lord! I know where he is._ She carefully squashed the thought that she had no idea whether he was still alive.

0o0o0

**Princess Jasmine was suffering from the hottest summer in her memory.**

Jasmine would have been more upset had she been more comfortable in regards to the climate. As it was, She was mostly just irritated that she had to go trudging around in this kind of humidity to look for a husband who should have been able to take care of himself.

_When I find him, I'm going to lock him up so I never have to search for him again._ She thought with a good deal of exasperation.

It was at that point that a muscular man clad in only a pair of wide pants entered the room

His chest was glistening slightly with sweat in the bright sunlight, and Jasmine realized that if she had been like so many of her predecessors, this would be the man she'd have her passionate love affair with. Unfortunately for the hunky guard, this only made her miss Aladdin more.

"Yes?" She asked in as polite a tone as she could muster under the current circumstances, "Did you need something?"

"Someone came and left this letter for you," He said quietly, presenting her with a cream colored envelope.

She took the envelope curiously. Who would be sending her cream colored parchment? It was obviously someone with money, because gold embossment was not a common commodity at the time.

Though she was skeptical as to the letter's relevancy to her current predicament, Jasmine decided that it was worth it to investigate the letter further. To do so, she resolved to open it.

_To whom it may concern,_

_I'm sure that by now you've noticed your missing Prince. I have kidnapped him for reasons I have decided not to reveal to you at this time; however, should you decide you want him back, contact the Head Guard for your next instructions._

_Ta-ta,_

_The Capitan_

So much for marrying a man who could take care of himself.

0o0o0

**Snow White was approaching her problem a little differently…**

"I just don't know why he would do this to me!" Snow White exclaimed dejectedly for what seemed like the eight millionth time that day. Her attendants simply rolled their eyes at one another for the seven million nine hundred ninety nine thousand nine hundred ninety ninth time.

Snow White had, instead of conducting her search herself, rung a dainty silver bell and instructed others to locate her husband.

Once she had ensured their cooperation, and they were indeed going to devote all their energy to discover her missing beau, she had swooned, landing dramatically on her bed, and cried herself into a stupor.

Now she was comfortably snuggled under two and a half feet of silk and down comforters, and the only thing she even attempted to rouse herself for was to lament her husband's heinous neglect. Again.

Soon, however, she was forced to gather enough strength to sit up. You see, one of her servants (a five or six year old girl) was persistently jabbing her in the side with something. A very pointy something.

When she finally sat up, the overzealous girl handed her an envelope with gold trim and one slightly crumpled corner. She could only assume it was disheveled due to the attack it had been making on her side.

She carefully detached the delicate flap and pulled out a short piece of parchment.

_To whom it may concern,_

_I'm sure that by now you've noticed your missing Prince. I have kidnapped him for reasons I have decided not to reveal to you at this time; however, should you decide you want him back, contact the evil Queen's Raven footman for your next instructions._

_Ta-ta,_

_The Capitan_

Being provided with an objective, Snow White climbed out of bed with renewed vigor.

There we go! I finally finished chapter two.

I'm going to start chapter three right away, but it might not be finished for a while.

Thank you to all of you who reviewed last chapter!


	3. I'm Supposed to go Where?

For some reason the dividers I used between the Author's note(s) and the story didn't show up last chapter, so I'm trying a different kind. Hopefully it works. The triple line should signal the beginning/end of the chapter, and the single one is a scene break.

Hopefully this will be one of the last chapters that the Princesses will be separate. One of the major reasons it takes me so long to update it that I have to write the same scene six different times before I can move on…it gets really irritating after a while…

As before, _italics_ are thoughts and **bold** is the narrator, even when addressing the characters in the story.

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**Ariel was busy activating phase one of her plan. To be perfectly honest, this was the only stage her plan had.**

She had set out yesterday to find her father. In the past, they'd agreed on meeting times and places.

Her current task was made more difficult by the fact that she could only hold her breath for a minute tops. Luckily, the fish still remembered her, and a big silver one had carried news to the austere-looking monarch that his daughter needed him.

Being a loving father, he quickly swam up to meet her.

"Ariel!" He cried as they exchanged a slightly awkward hug, with him leaning out of the water and her about to tip her rowboat over.

"Daddy, I'm so happy to see you!" She said with a sigh.

"Why did you need to see me now? I though we were going to wait until next week," the sea king asked, concern marring his regal visage.

"Somebody kidnapped Eric, and I…Well, it would be easier for me to explain if I were a mermaid again. I want to find Flounder," she told him. In light of recent events, she wanted the comfort of the water slipping around her.

Her father nodded and took aim. With some golden sparkles and a bit of warmth enveloping her, she felt her long legs merge into a powerful tail once again. When her transformation was complete, she pulled herself over the edge of the tiny boat and dove into the salty water.

It took very little time to find Flounder. It probably helped that the king knew exactly where he was, due to the fact that the little fish had been the last leg in the relay to inform the King of his daughter's return.

Once the three were seated(ish) in Triton's throne room, Ariel launched into the tale of beloved Eric's disappearance.

"I woke up this morning, and he was gone. I assumed he was doing something involving the kingdom, but I couldn't find him anywhere. Then my chamberlain gave me a letter that someone had delivered, and I opened it right away because I assumed that it was from Eric. It wasn't, but it told me that I was supposed to contact you to get any further," she said, a question developing in her eyes during the last portion.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you Ariel, other than to point you in the direction of the mail-grotto. Maybe they've received something there." The sea King scratched his chin thoughtfully. "In fact," he said with a small frown, "I recall someone telling me that we'd gotten some mail for you. I thought it must be someone who had been gone for a time. That way they wouldn't know about your marriage."

"Well, what are we waiting for? We have to find it!" Ariel said.

……….

The mail-grotto was a hopping place. At least it would have been if the occupants had been able to hop. There were mermaids and mermen swimming quickly to and fro with stacks of various sizes to sort into cubbyholes. Some stood…floated…in front of desks at which they were poring over lists of names and addresses, or puzzling out poor handwriting.

Triton led Ariel past these busy mer-people, and through a door at the far end of the long room. Inside, he explained that all the undeliverable mail was kept in this chamber.

"Now all we have to do is find yours!" he said, obviously pleased with the fact that his staff had decided to keep mail they couldn't deliver. He would later think that he had been very foolish to allow the mail employees to choose their own filing system as they seemed to prefer one of organized chaos. Without the organized portion of course.

……….

"Here it is," Triton cried. After several hours of fruitless search, the duo had finally found the elusive letter. Ariel pushed her bangs out of her eyes for what felt like the millionth time, and took the letter. It was very non-descript, nothing like the gold trim and embossed paper of the last correspondence.

She broke the seal and began to read.

_Princess Ariel,_

_If you've gone through the trouble of locating this letter, you want your prince back. If this is true, I advise you to follow these directions._

_Go toward the second star to the right, and straight on until morning._

_Hope to see you soon!_

_The Capitan_

"Toward the second star to the right?" Ariel asked with a wrinkle in her nose, "Where's that? It can't mean the ones in the sky…can it?" She turned toward her father, who was scratching his head through his white mane.

"It doesn't seem probable, does it?" He asked with a frown.

Ariel bit her lip. "If that's where it says to go, that's where I'm going. Let's go back up to the surface, Daddy."

……….

They were soon breaking out of the calm bubble that was the ocean. Triton once again took aim, after a hug of course, and soon Ariel was hurtling through the now dusky sky at the twinkling second star to the right while her fins split in two once again. She only hoped her father's magic still worked when she exited the atmosphere.

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**Our next Princess was having a difficult time beginning her journey. She hated to think the actual rescue was to be even more challenging.**

Princess Aurora made her way through the dank and dusty hallway. Well, _she_ thought it was dank. A tree frog would have found the conditions quite pleasant.

She would never dream of setting foot in this particular area, except that the ever mysterious "Capitan" had informed her that this is where she would find her next lead on her husband's disappearance.

She followed the footprints in the inch-thick dust until she reached the only room with a plaque on its door. The tarnished brass plate read _Record Keeper_ in antiquated, swirling letters. This was it. She hesitated with her delicate hand poised in prime knocking position.

_Do I want to know what I have to do to get him back? _she asked herself. _I would give anything to have him home again, but what if I can't do what they ask of me. I don't want to be the one who fails to rescue him…_

Her hand wavered. For a moment, it looked as though the stalwart princess was about to admit defeat. Then, a look of determination transformed her face, and she knocked three times on the heavy door.

Princess Aurora heard a slight scuffling noise, like some large rodent was scurrying across a pile of papers. Soon, the door swung open.

The Record Keeper was a tiny man with a long beard of the purest white. He had a kind, grandfatherly face, but his impossibly pale gray eyes showed an equally impossible amount of wisdom.

"May I help you, Princess?" he asked quietly, fixing those piercing eyes on her own blue ones. She felt as though he already knew why she was there, and she wondered if he knew what she was thinking. He made her uncomfortable.

"I came to find a letter that was left here for me. My husband had been seized, and the last correspondence instructed me to look here for further instructions," she said, feeling that even her soft voice was too loud to belong in the ancient room.

The man turned away without another word and began to rummage through a large pile of paper. He returned shortly with a small, plain envelope in his long fingers. He held it out to her carefully, and when she had taken it, he closed the door without another word.

The Princess was not sure how long she stood outside his door. Her eyes kept scanning the brass, half looking at her wide eyes' reflection, half reading the words.

Eventually, one of her legs fell asleep, which clearly told her that she needed to find an area of the castle that sunlight would actually venture into to read her letter.

When she reached her chambers, she carefully opened the envelope and began to read.

_Princess Aurora,_

_If you've gone through the trouble of locating this letter, you want your prince back. If this is true, I advise you to follow these directions._

_Go toward the second star to the right, and straight on until morning._

_Hope to see you soon!_

_The Capitan_

Well. This was perfect. It was going to take a miracle to get him back. She wasn't a hero, and she knew that. She was supposed to be the damsel in distress, not the lady in shining armor.

A wave of despair threatened to swamp the rowboat that was Princess Aurora's resolve. In her mind, there was very little chance that she would succeed in her endeavors.

She made a decision to try, though. It wouldn't do for her prince to go without a rescue party because of her cowardice.

Her first order of business was to figure out where the second star to the right could be found. The second star to the right of _what_ exactly? The moon?

Princess Aurora tried to think of someone who would know how to get to wherever it was she was supposed to be going. The best she could come up with was the three good faeries, Mistresses Fauna, Flora, and Meriwether.

So she went on a search for her three former foster-aunts, hoping they were in the castle in her time of need.

……….

Princess Aurora found them, but only after a good two hours' search. They were in the last place she'd have thought to look, and she only found them in their throne room hideout because a servant claimed to have seen them there.

Why she hadn't expected to see them in the most plausible place for them to be, she didn't know. We'll blame it on hormones and stress.

"Fauna, Flora, Meriwether!" she called, showing the most excitement she could, being a super dignified princess and all, "A captain of something or another left me a letter telling me that if I want Prince Phillip back (he's been kidnapped by the way), I have to go toward the second star to the right until morning. You three are the only ones I could think of who might know what it meant by that."

The three fairies exchanged a baffled look. "Well, dear," Fauna began, "I don't know if we can help very much, but maybe the letter means that you have to fly. We have a myth that you can fly to an island that way."

"I'll do anything, just send me there right away!" she exclaimed.

The three exchanged another look, this time one of hesitation and anxiety, but the they took only a moment to begin weaving the spell through the air in front of Princess Aurora.

Pink, green, and blue trails shimmered through the air as the fairy dust trailed after the three wands. When the Princess's foster aunts had completed their magic, it wrapped around the waiting woman to lift her off her feet.

She rose higher and higher amid cries of "goodbye, dear" and "don't speak to strangers" until the onlookers could no longer see her.

"I hope we sent her to the right place," Flora fretted, pressing a hand to her flushing cheek.

"I can't see how he could have been anywhere else, dear," Fauna said reassuringly.

Meriwether just crossed her arms and made a sound resembling "hrumph".

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Sorry for the horridly long space between updates, but I do have some semblance of a life outside this silly story.

Please review; I'm not going to stop updating or anything, but it does get really irritating when people favorite the story without reviewing…

Until next time, my semi-devoted readers! (Who am I kidding?)


	4. I'm Supposed to go Where? Part 2

I had hugely major writing block for like a year. I'm a really terrible person. I know. But I felt kind of hypocritical telling people they just have to wait and see why the princes were being kidnapped when I hadn't thought of a good reason myself… But now I have! I'm immensely proud of myself right now.

This chapter was mildly difficult due to the fact that Belle has no fairies, genies, fairy godmothers, or Triton-wielding parents. As Belle is one of my favorite princesses, I didn't want to do one of those "…and then the princess rose into the air and shot off toward the sky by sheer willpower!" If it takes a little too long to get to the point I apologize… So here it is: the long awaited chapter 4.

Again:

_Thoughts_

**Narrator (Imagine a big, booming voice. Like Zeus.)**

Disclaimer: I'm a college student. (Or at least I will be come August 28th.)

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Belle hated The Tavern. She really, truly did. The tavern keeper was a major creeper and the tavern itself was practically Gaston's lair. Luckily it was only about eight o'clock in the morning. Gaston probably wouldn't be up. She hoped.

She made her way down the gravel path. The door kept getting closer and she really wished it wouldn't… And then it was right there, directly in front of her. _Ugh. Do I have to? _She groaned to herself. Of course she knew the answer. So she pushed open the old wooden door, carefully avoiding splinters.

The tavern keeper, creepy as ever, was behind the counter drying a grimy mug with a grimier scrap of cloth. She picked her way through the drying puddles of sticky beer on the floor to the counter.

"Hello. I'm looking for a piece of mail that I think you have," she said, thinking better of placing her hands on the countertop.

He gave her an appraising look typical of his smarmy kind, one that measured her assets more extensively than her request. Only the fact that her husband's freedom (and possibly his life) depended on her acquiring this letter kept her from slapping him across his greasy face and storming out his door. She waited.

"Yeah… I think I remember a letter addressed to you bein' dropped off by a guy. Lemme go check." and with that he placed his cloth and mug (which, she suspected, was now dirtier than when he began) and ducked through a door covered by a tattered sheet.

He was gone for quite a while. Belle couldn't decide whether she wanted him to come back with the letter or not. She was weary of standing there and wanted to find her love, but the arrival of the letter could not come without the reappearance of-

"Here you go. It was hidin' in the back," he said with a grimace that she supposed was meant to be a simpering smile.

"Thank you," she said, already halfway to the door. As soon as she was outside, she tore into the plain envelope.

_Princess Belle,_

_If you've gone through the trouble of locating this letter, you want your prince back. If this is true, I advise you to follow these directions._

_Go toward the second star to the right, and straight on until morning._

_Hope to see you soon!_

_The Capitan_

"Lovely!" she cried aloud in exasperation, drawing the startled eyes of several villagers. _So now I have to find a way to a star. In the sky. Perfect. _She thought with a scowl. She wandered aimlessly through the village, collecting her thoughts. _I don't have any way to get there… I don't think it could be reached by any regular craft, even if we DID have one capable of flight._

Her feet led her out the other side of the village, toward a beautiful old spring in the forest. _So I need magic, which I don't have, or someone who can do magic, whom I don't know._ Frustrated, she reached the spring. It spewed out of a rock ledge at about waist height in a steady stream, and was the cleanest, freshest, clearest water in the town. She cupped her hands to drink some.

"Oh! My old bones aren't up to walking this far anymore…" came a voice from the Princess's left. Her head whipped around toward the voice. A stooped old woman sat on a ledge of the rock wall, an exceedingly gnarled walking stick propped against the wall next to her.

"Hello," she said tentatively, "What brings you to this spring?"

"I just needed some water after my long hike and this is the best place I know. Would you fetch me some water, child?" the ancient woman asked.

Belle took stock of her options. She had no cup, which meant it would be difficult to bring the water to her. She could say as much, but somehow that felt unkind… The poor old woman looked so tired and thirsty…

So the Princess cupped her hands together, getting them as close as possible to each other so she could hold the water in them, and filled them from the spring. She hurried over to the old woman and tipped the clear water to her waiting lips.

"Thank you dear," the woman said, standing with a groan and readjusting her deep green velvet cloak. Belle could tell that it had seen better days.

"You're welcome," the Princess said, taking the woman's arm to help steady her. Belle watched as she tottered off into the forest.

_Ok. Now back to business. _She thought. Now that the old woman was gone she realized that old hags usually aren't what they seem and, more often than not, random acts of kindness grant you a boon of some kind. She did feel slightly cheated that the only crone she'd ever met was just what she appeared to be: a very old, extraordinarily ugly woman.

_Years ago everyone in the castle was transfigured into furniture, tools, tea sets, and etcetera by a beautiful witch disguised as a crone much like the one I just saw. She can obviously do powerful magic. I need to get back to the castle and see which of the servants saw the crone/beautiful witch._

With that plan in mind, she rushed back to the castle.

……….

"Lumiere! Cogsworth!" she cried as soon as she was inside.

The two men came scurrying. "What can I do for you, Princess?" the more portly man asked.

"Yes, how may we be of service?" the former candlestick gushed.

"You both know that Beast is missing," she began, a bit out of breath from her brisk trot back to the castle, "When I went outside today I found a letter that told me if I want him back I should speak to the Tavern keeper." an involuntary grimace flitted across her face. "So I did, and he gave me another letter. According to the second letter I have to 'go toward the second star on the right and straight on until morning.' I assume that you can't do this except by magic. So I need to know exactly what the hag that cursed you all looked like."

"She was very ugly," supplied Lumiere, ever the connoisseur of feminine wiles and beauty.

"Erm… well… she wore a kind of green cloak… and leaned upon a stick that looked like it was cut from the most twisted sapling you can imagine…" Cogsworth offered, somewhat more helpfully.

And then Belle realized that the hag she'd met in the forest _was_ the one that had cursed the castle. Then she felt incredibly stupid.

"Thank you both very much. I think I know where to find her now," she said. With that, she was off. She practically ran through the village, back to the forest, past the spring, and into the wood.

She didn't stop until she saw a tower rising out of a lake. It was beautiful, all white marble and flowering vines creeping up the sides. _If _I_ was a beautiful witch this is definitely where I'd live. _Belle thought to herself. She picked up her skirts and waded through the clear, shallow water to the tower. She'd never really been good with climbing thorny vines, as closer inspection revealed the flowering plants to be. She walked around the outside of the tower. In the back, there was a drainage grate in the wall, half submerged in the lake.

She dropped her skirts into the water to free her hands and bent down to release the latch on the grate. It fell open. She crawled through on her hands and knees. Oddly enough, upon standing up, the water simply ran down her skirts and legs and vanished, leaving her quite as dry and warm as before.

A spotless white marble staircase wound up steeply inside the tower. It was brightly lit by the sunlight streaming in through windows set at regular intervals.

At the top, there was a beautifully worked, dark wooden door. Fairies danced along the outer trim and animals frolicked happily through the meadow carved in the center. A silver doorknocker perched in a nest of wooden swirls and curls.

Belle raised a hand to the knocker and touched the cold metal. Here was the moment of truth…

She lifted the knocker away from the door and the aforementioned door swung open with a shiver before she could lower her hand. It was a sunny, circular room containing a carved wooden day bed on which colorful silk sheets were thrown, as if the sleeper had just now risen carelessly from it. There was also a small table and chair. The flowering vines that adorned the exterior of he tower crept in through the windows and along the walls. Brittle brown leaves that had fallen from the vines gathered against the walls. Belle absently noted that instead of looking unkempt, the leaves gave the room a whimsical air.

She now looked to the right of the room. On a velvet chaise lounge sat a beautiful woman. Her skin was pale enough to look like the most delicate porcelain, but not so pale that she looked sickly, and thick, lustrous blond curls cascaded down her shoulders.

For a moment the two just looked at each other. Then the witch, for so she was, spoke. "I know why you are here child," she said. Belle thought it odd to be called 'child' by a woman who barely looked 25.

"I have seen that you wish your husband to be returned to you. I cannot return him directly but I will send you to the place he is being kept." and with that the woman rose from the couch and glided to Belle. The Princess closed her eyes. She felt a cool hand above her heart and then it was suddenly gone, as were the quiet forest sounds. Now she could hear something very, _very_ different.

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So… There it was. Let me know what you think. :) I was going to include Cinderella's stuff in here but it's taking too long. The sooner you all know I haven't forgotten about you the better.


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